Andrzej Bobola Czuma (born 7 December 1938 in

Lublin Lublin is the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the center of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin is the largest Polish city east of ...

) is a Polish politician, lawyer and historian. He was an activist of the Polish anti-Communist opposition in the

Polish People's Republic The Polish People's Republic ( pl, Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa, PRL) was a country in Central Europe that existed from 1947 to 1989 as the predecessor of the modern Republic of Poland. With a population of approximately 37.9 million ne ...

and was oppressed and imprisoned by the Communist authorities. In the 1980s he left for the USA where he became an activist in the community of Polish

expats An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. In common usage, the term often refers to educated professionals, skilled workers, or artists taking positions outside their home country, either ...

. Since 2006, Czuma has been a member of the Polish Parliament as a representative of the

Civic Platform Civic Platform ( pl, Platforma Obywatelska, PO)The party is officially the Civic Platform of the Republic of Poland (''Platforma Obywatelska Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej''). is a political party in Poland. It is currently led by Donald Tusk. It ...

political party. He studied law at

Warsaw University The University of Warsaw ( pl, Uniwersytet Warszawski, la, Universitas Varsoviensis) is a public university in Warsaw, Poland. Established in 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country offering 37 different fields of ...

. He was one of the founders of '' Ruch'' - an anti-Communist organisation aiming at making Poland a democratic country and was imprisoned by the Communist authorities. In June 1970, he was sentenced to 7 years' imprisonment for "an attempt to overthrow the Communist government by force". He was a spokesperson for and one of the leaders of the

Movement for Defense of Human and Civic Rights Movement for Defence of Human and Civic Rights ( pl, Ruch Obrony Praw Człowieka i Obywatela, ROPCiO) was a right-wing political and social organization formed in People's Republic of Poland in March 1977. It tried to resist the regime by denouncing ...

(Ruch Obrony Praw Człowieka i Obywatela, ROPCiO) as well as an editor of ''Opinia'' magazine. He was sentenced to 3 months' imprisonment in March 1980 for organising a celebration of Independence Day in front of the

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Warsaw The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier ( pl, Grób Nieznanego Żołnierza) is a monument in Warsaw, Poland, dedicated to the unknown soldiers who have given their lives for Poland. It is one of many such national tombs of unknowns that were erected ...

on 11 November 1979. After the nationwide anti-Communist protests in August 1980 he became an advisor to the

Solidarity ''Solidarity'' is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. It is based on class collaboration.''Merriam Webster'', http://www.merriam-webster.com/dicti ...

movement in

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. S ...

region as well as the publisher and editor of ''Wiadomości Katowickie'' magazine. He was imprisoned from 12 December 1981 to 23 December 1982 in internment camps in

Białołęka Białołęka (, from ''biały'' - ''white'' and ''łąka'' - ''meadow'') is one of 18 districts of Warsaw, located in the northern part of the city. Until October 27, 2002 Białołęka was a gmina. The name ''Białołęka'' comes from a nobleman ...

, Jaworze and

Darłówko Darłówko (german: Rügenwaldermünde) is a seaside neighborhood and a popular summertime resort in the town of Darłowo on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea in northern Poland. It is the site of a yearly gathering of old military vehicles, t ...

. In 1986 he moved to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

as a political refugee, where during the first two years he worked as a house painter and factory worker. In 1988 Czuma started to host his own radio show broadcast in the Chicago region first on WNVR 1030 AM and next on WPNA 1490 AM and was considered a prominent leader of Chicago's Polonia. On 12 December 2006, he was sworn in as a member of the Polish Parliament. He was reelected in the next election on 21 October 2007. Czuma was the

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

from 23 January to 7 October 2009. Czuma was awarded the Officer's Cross of the

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta ( pl, Order Odrodzenia Polski, en, Order of Restored Poland) is a Polish state order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on foreigners for outstanding achievemen ...

by President

Kazimierz Sabbat Kazimierz Aleksander Sabbat (27 February 1913 – 19 July 1989), was President of Poland- in-exile from 8 April 1986 until his death, 19 July 1989, after serving (from 1976) as Prime Minister of the Polish government-in-exile. Early life S ...

and the Commander's Cross with Star of Polonia Restituta by the Polish President

Lech Kaczyński Lech Aleksander Kaczyński (; 18 June 194910 April 2010) was a Polish politician who served as the city mayor of Warsaw from 2002 until 2005, and as President of Poland from 2005 until his death in 2010. Before his tenure as president, he pre ...

References

External links

Czuma family page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Czuma, Andrzej 1938 births Living people Politicians from Lublin University of Warsaw alumni Members of the Polish Sejm 2007–2011 Members of the Polish Sejm 2005–2007 Commanders with Star of the Order of Polonia Restituta Solidarity (Polish trade union) activists Polish prisoners and detainees Civic Platform politicians 20th-century Polish lawyers Polish journalists Polish-American culture in Chicago Justice ministers of Poland Polish dissidents